


Repairing

by xx_ciela



Series: We Met Last Night [2]
Category: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse), Resident Evil - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Platonic Relationships, Possible love, Slice of Life, Talking, Umbrella is still evil but doesn't happen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-18
Updated: 2020-01-18
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:40:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22298728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xx_ciela/pseuds/xx_ciela
Summary: After having his heart broken, Leon is moving to Raccoon City for his new job. To ease his pain, he makes a pit stop in a nearly deserted town. There he meets a girl with a broken down motorcycle. Sometimes you just need to talk, even if it's with a stranger.
Relationships: Leon S. Kennedy/Claire Redfield
Series: We Met Last Night [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1578451
Comments: 12
Kudos: 66





	Repairing

**Author's Note:**

> A collection of one shots that evolved into this *jazz hands*

There are obvious differences between the Midwest and the east coast. One of the differences that Leon likes is the sky. He no longer needed to drive out of the city to see it. It is  _ much _ more visible without the tall buildings and excessive lighting.

The other difference is the people. They actually make eye contact. Back on the east, making eye contact would turn into a confrontation. Leon still averts his eyes every now and then; mostly when he forgets he’s no longer in the east or he doesn’t feel like making conversation.

And that’s the other thing. Leon is convinced the further west you head out, the more people love to talk. To anybody, probably even to anything. Strangers meeting, pouring their life story in the middle of a Walmart check-out line, and then never seeing each other again. It’s a crazy concept.

“...and that’s why I can’t set foot in Minnesota,” finishes the old woman in front of him.

“Very interesting.” Leon points in front of her. “You’re up next.”

The old woman sets her trail mix on the counter. After she pays for it, she heads out the door without paying him any mind. Crazy concept.

“Partying tonight, eh?” The gas station attendee says with a wink as he sets a couple of bottles of cheap whiskey down. “Is it with friends, family, a girl?”

“Pack of Camel’s, too,” Leon says, looking at the bottles in a black bag.

The attendee places them in the bag and reads out his total. “Y’know a party of one sounds like a good idea but it never is.”

Leon silently urges the card reader to hurry up.

“Whatever it is you’re running from should be confronted head on.”

The receipt takes its time to print.

“Talking to someone you trust is also good. It’s how the missus and I lasted for so long.”

The attendee holds out the bag to Leon.

“You hear me boy?”

Leon takes the bag, calling over his shoulder. “Have a good evening.”

In his car, he takes out the car lighter and a cigarette. He relishes the taste of the much needed smoke. How long has it been since his last cigarette? Since his girlfriend—ex-girlfriend— made him stop. Leon blindly rustles for one of the bottles on the passenger seat. He breaks the seal and drinks from the bottle. He grimaces at the taste but it goes down easy after a drag of tobacco. 

A quarter bottle and a couple cigarettes gone, Leon rests his head on the steering wheel. Here he is, in a gas station parking lot smoking and drinking in misery. It shouldn’t be like this. He’ll be an official of the law soon. He needs to be responsible.

Leon starts up his Wrangler. He’s not too far gone to not be able to drive. He’s still a good distance away from his new place. He’ll stop at a motel and smoke and drink in misery there.

The sun had set when he pulled into the parking lot. He had a good view of the sunset when he was driving. Leon actually delayed his search for a motel just to enjoy the sight of the sinking sun.

Leon was glad the woman manning the front desk didn’t try to start a conversation. He figures that she has already seen everything in her line of work. Him renting out a room to feel sorry for himself would be harmless compared to whatever else had happened here.

He was still shoving his credit card into his wallet when a girl approaches him. He chides himself for not being fast enough.

“Excuse me,” she says, “do you have a flashlight?”

“Maybe.” He doesn’t look her way, walking to the back of the Wrangler. The faster he gives it to her, the faster she’ll leave him alone.

Her boots click behind him as he opens the back. 

“Wow, you moving or something?”

Inside of his car were several boxes full of his belongings. He shifts things around, searching for the tool box.

“Something like that.” He rummages through the tool box but doesn’t find the flashlight. “You know what I don’t—”

The girl points inside one of the boxes he unloaded out of his car. “Is that it?”

Leon shoves the tool box and kneels down to look in the open box. He hadn’t taped this one. The flashlight laid on top of his new uniform. 

“You’re a cop?” The girl asks, disbelief evident.

“Here.” He hands her the flashlight, his eyes roaming her face, illuminated thanks to a nearby lamp post. Does she have dirt on her face? 

“Huh.” Her eyes flick around, possibly studying his face, too. She turns to leave, the lamp post no longer lighting her face. “I’ll bring back your light soon, ‘kay?”

“Yeah,” he says, although the girl was already going around the building.

Leon loads his car back up and starts his car again. He drives around the parking lot of the motel, looking for his room. He finally finds it, and lo and behold, the girl was in front of it. She was on her knees beside a red motorcycle. She was aiming the flashlight into the frame of the bike. Her face was twisted in a scowl. Leon knew this because his headlights drowned her in light as he parked a space over from her. 

Rubbing his forehead, Leon got out of his car with his bag of goodies and went to his room. He could hear her soft curses, for the bike and for someone named Chris, as he unlocked his room.

He takes off his coat and throws it at the foot of the bed. He then dumps the contents out of the bag, the glass bottles clinking against each other. He lights up a cigarette, opens a bottle, and was about to recline on the bed when somebody knocked on the door.

Leon stays quiet hoping the person would leave. He gets up, setting the bottle on the nightstand, when the knocking persisted. He grits his teeth and opens the door. The girl stands there, hip cocked and flashlight in front of her.

“Thanks for letting me borrow it.”

Leon exhales smoke, taking the flashlight. “No problem.”

Maybe there is a problem. She doesn’t leave.

“Something wrong?”

She shakes her head, smiling apologetically. “No, I’m fine.” She nods at something over his shoulder. “Careful with that cheap stuff. It’ll give you the shits.”

The girl goes back to her bike. Her fingers snake into her hair, messing up her ponytail. Leon walks back to the bed, picking up the bottle from the nightstand. He examines it, reading the label and staring at the bronze liquid. 

“I have an iron stomach,” he says before drinking.

* * *

The television was set on mute. All the lights were off except for the one in the bathroom. Leon wasn’t really looking at the TV. He was already buzzed, about half of the first bottle still left. The ashtray on the nightstand contained a good pile of ashes and stubs. He rubbed his chin with his fingers.

There are always highs and lows in life. Leon didn’t expect to be experiencing a low right now. He had recently graduated from the police academy, top of his class. He got hired at Raccoon City, his grandparent’s hometown, attracted by the rumors of an axe killer. He has—had, it’s had now—an amazing girlfriend that he saw a future with. Only she didn’t.

Leon had met Maxine on a whim. He was still in the academy and was accompanying an officer on duty. They were dispatched about a house party. When they arrived, people scrambled to get away, the music was shut off abruptly, and there was splashing coming from the pool. 

Leon had been on the second level of the house. He was opening doors, telling whoever he found to head downstairs. His breath caught when he opened the last door. A closet, and the most stunning girl hiding inside it. 

God, he can still remember that night so clearly. Tangled, dark hair, as dark as her cat-like eyes. Low cheekbones, and strong cupid’s bow lips. Sweat glistened on her olive skin—from dancing, from hiding, who knows?

His throat had turned into the Sahara. He nodded his head for her to step out and head downstairs. He was hit with the smell of lilacs and something skunky. She was clean when she was patted down in the living room, swearing up and down she didn’t even smoke. The breathalyzer, though, got her arrested for underage drinking.

Leon was told to keep an eye on her while his partner finished up. They talked while waiting. More like Maxine did the talking. 

“Can I get my phone call now, please?” she asked. “I have a shit ton of homework to finish. Plus, I have a couple of tests coming up and I really need to study. Look, this whole thing was unplanned. My roommate called me and I came to pick her up.”

“And you decided to head back driving drunk?” Leon accused.

“I’m buzzed not drunk.”

“Same shit, different smell.”

She groaned. “You really have a stick up your ass, huh? I get it, it’s dangerous, but I also needed to destress. Like I said, I have a lot to do.”

Leon looked over his shoulder at her. Well, her figure because of the dark concealing her. The lamp post outside illuminated half of her face. 

“Too bad,” he responded, turning back to face forward.

Maxine made a sound of frustration. 

She remained quiet the whole way to the police station. She didn’t stay in the holding cell for long. Maxine was bailed out by her parents within the hour. 

Leon was at the entrance of the station when she passed by. A white man and a Filipino woman chastising her. Her cat eyes were fierce as she glared at him. He should have taken it as a threat, only it turned him on.

He was lucky to meet her again. Leon was with a couple of guys from the academy in a sub shop when she appeared.

“Remember me?” she said, carrying her food.

Leon broke away from his friends. “I remember you looking more like a hot mess.”

“I’m well aware I’m hot. You couldn’t take your eyes off me when you saw me,” she teased.

Leon cleared his throat. “Can I help you with something?”

“I’m finished with my tests. Unfortunately, my license got suspended thanks to you and your buddy. You’re going to have to pick me up for our date.”

“Wait, what?” 

She handed him a crumpled piece of paper. “How’s Saturday at eight?” 

Leon smoothed the paper to see a series of numbers. He looked from the paper to her face. She wasn’t looking away from him, so sure of herself. “Sounds great.”

She smiled. “See you then.”

* * *

Leon’s eyes flew open at the sound of a shout. The TV was still on mute. The bottle of cheap whiskey was cradled between his legs. He sat up on the bed, rubbing his eyes when he heard the shout again.

He sets the bottle on the nightstand, heading to the door. He opens it to see the girl from before sitting on the sidewalk. The lights on the walls of the motel were keeping her out of the dark. Her head leaning on her hand. 

She turns her head slightly to see him before staring back at her bike. “Sorry. Did I wake you?”

“I dozed off for a bit. You have a good pair of lungs.” Leon leans out of the room to look up and down the sidewalk. Nobody else was out of their rooms. Then again the parking lot was mostly bare.

“My bad. Normally I don’t react on my anger. I just got frustrated.”

Leon could head back inside and be alone. He can return to his self-pity, knock out, and go into work tomorrow. He can say, “That sucks, goodnight,” and not deal with her. 

Leon will not understand why, why instead he says, “From what?”

“Why do you care?” She turns around from where she was sitting. “No offense but you made it obvious earlier that you’re kind of a dick.”

“I’m going through some shit right now,” Leon says. “I didn’t feel like talking to anybody and I still don’t. I’m only asking because you actually do need help with something.”

“And I here I was thinking that you were a dick.” She stands up, stretching her arms over her head. “Besides you can’t help me with my problem.”

“Is that a challenge?”

The girl turns around to face him, crossing her arms. “Why hasn’t my brother been taking my calls for the past month?”

“Uh…”

“The breather gear on my bike took out the cam, there’s no bike or auto shop in this near ghost town, I don’t have the proper tools and I doubt that you do, and I’m a couple hours away from Raccoon City yet here I am stranded.” She finishes, “Is that challenging enough?”

“Very,” Leon finally responds.

“Very,” the girl repeats. 

There isn't any dirt on her face as he thought before. It’s freckles. They are faint on her face except for the ones around the nose area.

“That cheap stuff really got to you, huh?”

Leon refocuses. “What?”

“Either it did or you have a staring problem.”

“I can handle it. Besides,” Leon touches his cheek, “I thought you had dirt.”

The girl wipes a hand all over her face and neck. The freckles stay intact save for a few. She turns her hand around to show him. “No dirt but I do have bugs.” She wipes her hand on her jeans, softly saying, “Disgusting.”

She points over shoulder. “I have to go get a room. So…”

Leon waves her off. “Yeah, yeah. You’re already stuck here, don’t let it be in the cold.”

She leaves without another word into the dark. Leon looks after where she disappeared to. Should he have gone with her? It may be practically a ghost town but anything could still happen. It would have been creepy and she looks tough. A tough girl that rides a motorcycle. A tough girl with blue eyes.

Leon smacks his own head. “Stop.”

He went back inside to relieve himself. Picking up the flashlight by the TV and lighting up a cigarette, he went back out. He walked around the girl’s motorcycle. A beauty of a bike. A white, three-quarter helmet was placed on the seat, speckled with bugs and other matter. 

He remembers seeing the girl kneeling and looking into the bike. He copies her earlier image and turns on the flashlight. Leon sweeps the light but doesn’t know where to find the damage.

“Do you even know what you’re looking for?” The girl’s western boots click as she approaches. 

“No idea,” Leon admits, lowering the light. “Motorcycles aren’t really my thing.”

The girl kneels beside him, hands on her knees. “Then what is? And please don’t say to protect and serve. I can’t tell you how many of my brother’s buddies say that’s their thing.”

Leon frowns, inhaling from his cigarette. “How do you know I’m a cop?”

She rolls her eyes. “That cheap shit really fried your brain.”

“I feel fine.”

“I do, too, when I’m drunk,” she laughs. “I saw your uniform earlier when you were looking for a flashlight.”

Leon touches his temple, trying to remember.

“Don’t damage yourself any further,” laughs the girl.

“Ha ha.” Leon turns on the light again. “So what am I looking at?”

The girl sets a hand on the flashlight, lowering it. “Forget it. I would have to open the engine again and I don’t feel like doing that again.”

Leon finishes his cigarette, stubbing it into the pavement. “To think that I wanted to try and make motorcycles my thing.”

“Really?”

“Nah, it’s not for me.”

Leon looks away from where he stubbed the cigarette to the girl beside him. Her head was tilted as she scrutinized him. They were close enough that their knees brushed against each other. Leon found it weird he couldn’t feel any heat from her proximity.

Leon stands up, brushing his knees and says, “Look who has a staring problem now.”

“I was thinking,” the girl stands up and leans against her motorcycle, “how I still don’t know your name.”

“For what? After this we won’t see each other again.”

“How sad.” Her lower lip pouts. “After you’ve gone through the trouble of lending me your flashlight.”

He wanted to pull her lip. His fingers itched to do it. “Don’t forget I also asked about your problems.” 

“How can I forget! Your whole heart was into it,” she says dryly. “What’s going on with you?”

“With what?”

Her eyes shoot skyward. “Your car is packed with boxes, you rented a motel room and brought two bottles of gas station alcohol. I remember you saying you didn’t want to talk with anyone,” her eyes shift to his, startling him, “but here you still are. Talking with me.”

Leon crosses his arms, wishing he brought his Camel’s out with him. “So? Consider yourself special.”

“I’m not. I have a huge feeling you’re using me to avoid your problem.” She scoots, patting empty space on the bike beside her. “Tell a stranger you’ll never see again your problem.”

She’s right about that. They are just strangers that will never see each other again. This girl doesn’t know where he lives, or will live, who his friends are, or his name. No way for her to blackmail him later on or ridicule him. 

A sudden gust of cold air chills them. Leon sees the girl trying not to shiver. Is that why he hadn’t felt heat from her? 

“You’re cold.” He sighs. “I’ll rant to you about my shit, if we can do it inside.”

The girl nods, pulling out a key from the pocket of her crimson denim vest. “Sure, let me clean up first.”

* * *

There was a shift after their first anniversary. Maxine was studying for her major and Leon had been getting more involved with local law enforcement. They occasionally had days when their schedules lined up. When they were together, however, they would argue or be shrouded in a tense silence. The most memorable is the one leading up to their breakup.

Maxine had called Leon before he left his apartment midmorning. 

“Are you just now waking up?” Maxine asked.

“No, I’m finishing breakfast,” Leon responded, rubbing his eyes. The phone ringing woke him up. “What’s up?”

“I want to go see a movie tonight. We can grab dinner after. I have some news I want to share with you!”

“I have to go in about an hour.” Leon grimaced at the noise Maxine made. “Look, babe, I’ll see if I can get off early or trade with someone else.”

She sighed. “Will you be on time this time?”

“I promise. Give me the time and place and I’ll be there.”

Leon was there—halfway through the movie. He was granted to leave early but had been caught up in a last minute dispatch. He booked it to the movie theater after. Traffic wasn’t much help, neither was the lack of parking.

Maxine didn’t acknowledge him when he found her and slid into the seat she saved for him. Leon whispered an apology but was silenced by the half empty popcorn tub shoved into his lap. Once the credits started rolling, Maxine was out of her seat.

“Hey, Maxine,” Leon called to her. “Wait!”

She was nearly out the door of the cinema when Leon grabbed her elbow. Maxine spun to face him with red, angry eyes.

“Not here,” she said lowly. 

Leon led her to his car. He didn’t turn on the car and neither spoke. The calm before the storm. 

“I’m sorry,” Leon tried again. “I’m so sorry. I did get permission to leave early but we got dispatched at the last minute. Then when we—”

“I don’t care, Leon! I don’t fucking care!” Maxine exploded. “You care more about your job than me. You lose yourself in trying to be at the top that you forget about me.”

“I’m sorry that you felt like that but I’m getting closer to graduation. This is what I want to do with my life. It will be all about you then on.” The more Leon went on the more Maxine shook her head.

“The excuses, Jesus Christ.” The streetlights showed her eyes tearing up when she turned to him. “Stop saying things you don’t mean, Leon. Instead of always promising to be there just say no. I can’t tell you how many times you came late or not show up to our dates. You don’t put in the same effort as before.”

“The pot calling the kettle black. You’re either in school, at work or tutoring,” Leon listed off of his fingers. “When I call or try to go see you, you’re with your friends or family. Then you pull the ‘I’m tired’ card when I want time with you.”

“That’s family not work. It’s different.”

“Then what am I?!”

Maxine struggled with what to say, until, “Take me home.”

Leon idled the car in front of her apartment. She didn’t get out right away. Maxine spoke when she opened the door.

“I got accepted into law school. I’ll have to move by mid-September.” A sniff. “That’s what I wanted to tell you.”

The next few weeks were spent in a limbo. They hadn’t said anything to officially end their relationship. Leon would try to at least call when he could. Those conversations were two percent talking, ninety-eight percent hearing each other breathe. Maxine would leave take out at his place. They wouldn’t see each other physically.

Leon had been applying for jobs since graduation neared. He applied in places that would seem interesting. He was hoping to get hired in the Arklay Mountains. There have been recent ax murders going on and he wanted in on the action. 

He aced the phone interview for Raccoon Police Department. Leon was ecstatic that he went over to Maxine’s to give her the news. He wanted to surprise her. He wanted her to be a part of it. 

Maxine answered the door. Her eyes were wide and her hair was rumpled. Her appearance reminded him of when they first met. “Leon! What are you doing here?”

“I have some news for you. I got the job in Raccoon and will be starting towards the end of the month.”

Maxine’s face lit up. “Leon, that’s great!”

“That’s not all.” He took a breath to calm himself. “We’ll be in different states but I want you to be a part of my life.”

Maxine’s face started to fall. “Leon—”

“I’m not saying I want to marry you right now. We can wait until after you’re done with school. We can do long distance, and—”

“No,” Maxine said, halting whatever he would say next. “I don’t want to do any of that.”

“Why?” Leon asked, his throat dry. 

“Marriage isn’t for me, for starters. Also, our relationship has been bumpy almost right from the start.” She shrugs. “I don’t even know how we lasted this long. I mean, c’mon, you have noticed that we’ve been drifting apart the last few months.”

He has but he didn’t want to. They were leading different lives, have different goals.

“If that’s how you feel, okay.” Leon turned to walk away. “Good luck, Maxine.”

Maxine smiled sincerely, shutting the door.

* * *

“You do this often?”

The girl looks up from her examination of the bottle in her hands. “Do what exactly?”

“Visit strangers in their motel rooms,” Leon says from his place on the bed. 

He forgot to buy bottled water from the gas station, and since he didn’t want to go back and be lectured by the attendant, Leon had been drinking from the tap in the bathroom when she knocked again. Leon agreed to talk with her so that she can go back to her room. Once in her room, she would realize how tired she was and not bother to come back. That didn’t happen.

“Only when I know they’re harmless,” the girl says. “And if anything happens, it will all come back to you. The room is under your name, I’m assuming.”

“What if I used a fake name?” Leon counters.

“Security cameras, the front desk already knows your face,” she says in a ‘duh’ tone. “If I wanted to talk about getting away with murder, I would be talking to my brother.”

Leon reels back to earlier when she was cursing. “Is his name Chris?”

“Yeah, he’s the reason I’m taking this trip.” The girl sets the bottle on the table by the TV. “What police station do you report to?”

“Raccoon Police Department, but I don’t start yet,” Leon clarifies. “I only asked because of your shouting earlier.”

The girl pulls out the chair by the table and settles on it. “My brother works there. For a second I thought you at least heard of him.”

He was about to ask her more when she beat him to it. 

“Is that why your car is packed, you’re moving to Raccoon City?” she asks.

“Pretty much.” Leon shifts on the bed to settle against the headboard. “I applied because of recent crime. The RPD needed more help so it worked out.”

“When is your first day?”

“Tomorrow.”

The girl gave him an incredulous look. “Tomorrow?” He sees her look at the nearly empty bottle of booze on the table where she left it, and the other full bottle on the nightstand beside him. “You’re a very irresponsible cop for getting drunk the day before you start.”

“At least I’m not out there driving drunk.” He waves her off. “I’ll be fine by tomorrow. I won’t even be late.”

“In that case...” The girl stands, grabbing the bottle from the table. She walks to his bedside and takes the bottle from the nightstand. “...you won’t be needing these anymore.”

The girl heads to the bathroom, Leon behind her. She opens the bottles and drains the alcohol into the sink.

“I paid for that,” Leon lamely says. 

The girl tosses the bottles into the trash can. “That cheap Devil piss isn’t worth anything. Trust me.”

Leon leans on the door frame. “Your bad encounters don’t apply to me. I’m doing just fine.”

The girl shudders. “The smell still brings back nightmares. You don’t feel anything at first but it will bite you back in the ass later. Literally.”

She walks past him out to the room.

Leon stares at the sink and trash where the bottles now were. He silently mourns the waste of the alcohol and turns back to the room.

* * *

Leon lies at the top of the bed, arms crossed under his head and his feet still on the floor. “I wanted her to a part of my future. She just didn’t see me in hers.”

“That sucks. I’m sorry.” The girl mimicked his form except she was at the foot of the bed. 

“I thought at least we could do long distance and wait until she was done with school.” It felt like he made the proposition a long time ago but really had been a few weeks ago. “I know our relationship was getting bumpy, and we had been drifting apart, I just felt that we could still fix it.”

“If you wanted to fix it then a long distance would have only made it worse. You both would be hurting more than you are now.”

Leon turns his head to her. “From a woman’s perspective, what do you think?”

The girl taps her lower lip in thought. “She sounds ambitious. Her plan was to go to law school with or without you. She noticed that you guys had different plans for the future and the relationship was changing.” She turns her head to him. “She did what she thought was best.”

Leon faces the ceiling again, digesting what the girl told him. 

“My thoughts, okay? I don’t really know her at all, so she could’ve had different reasons.”

“I’ll believe what you said.” Leon gulps soundlessly. “Maybe it was for the best.”

The girl rolls onto her side. Her arm stretches across the mattress to awkwardly place her hand on his arm. “My great uncle used to say that a man crying doesn’t make him any less human. It’s best to let it out. It’s gonna suck for a while.”

His eyes gradually warm. Leon covers his eyes with his hand. The girl comforts him by rubbing his arm.

* * *

“English,” Leon guesses.

The girl lazily flips through the motel provided Bible. “No.”

“Medic.”

“As if! That’s too much science for me.”

Leon thrums his fingers on the table. He concedes, “I give.”

“Mechanical engineering,” the girl responds. 

Leon rests his chin on the chair backrest. “Your brother must be proud you’re not pursuing a degree in the liberal arts.”

“You’re not wrong,” the girl laughs. “I chose it because the university I’m attending doesn’t really offer auto tech.”

“I thought you were into motorcycles?”

“I am.” The girl looks up from the Bible to him. “Cars are for my bank account, motorcycles are for my soul.” She rests her chin on her hand. “My great uncle used to look after Chris and me. I remember when he first showed us his garage. He had a Ducati 500 GTL, nineteen-seventy-seven.” Her teeth gently bite her lower lip to softly whistle. “I fell in love.”

Leon smiles at her passion. He heard her mention her great uncle in the past tense. The man, aside from her brother, was a huge influence for her.

“Where’s the bike now?” Leon asks.

“I inherited it.”

“No shit.”

The girl nods her head. “I have it in storage. It’s too precious to ride. I take it out when I want to relive the moment I first saw it. Have you ever felt like that about something?”

Has he? Leon tries to remember a feeling like she described. “I was around eight when I first went into a police station.”

He can still see it. A tiny him looking up at officers, seeing them bustling about the station. Coffee and ink permeating the air. Typing and writing echoing from desks. The casual and serious chatter. The sense of helping and getting things done. It zapped his brain to become a part of it.

“I remember hanging out with an officer. She challenged me to a push up contest and let me win. She showed me the holding cells and told me about her job. She let me drink my first coffee. I thought it was the coolest thing ever.”

The girl grins at him. “Sounds like it was a cool field trip.”

Leon runs a hand through his hair. “It wasn’t a field trip. My mom was charged with a DUI with child passenger. The officer hung out with me until my dad picked me up.”

“Woah,” the girl’s eyelids peel back, “that’s awful.”

“Dad got full custody later,” Leon says with a shrug and stares at the carpet. “We don’t have any idea where she is. She made her choice.”

The girl, sensing he didn’t want to talk more about his mom, changes the subject. “All that led you to police boot camp. How was it?”

“I had an idea of the training process but it was when I finally started to go out on patrols that I felt the responsibility. Having to follow protocol, having a cool head, and assisting in anyway I can. I know I want to be of service,” Leon elaborates, “y’know to protect and make a difference somehow. Even a small one.”

The girl doesn’t say anything. Leon lifts his head, wondering if the girl had fallen asleep. The worn Bible was closed and on the other side of her. She had gone from lying on her stomach to resting on her side, her weight on her elbow. The girl was thoughtfully looking at him. His stomach felt a little queasy.

“Say something,” Leon insists. 

The girl shifts to sit cross-legged. “You’re an idealistic guy. I like it, better than you being a prick.”

Unexpected warmth. Why does it make him feel exposed?”

“Thanks,” Leon rasps.

The girl pushes herself off the bed to stretch her arms overhead, yawning. “I’ll let you rest. You have a big day tomorrow.”

Leon glances at the clock. “It’s only 2:17.”

“Only,” the girl says drily. 

Leon stands to accompany her to the door. 

She turns back and smiles. “Goodnight, Rookie.”

“G’night, Motor City.”

* * *

Leon’s hand slams on the alarm clock, shutting it off. He glares at it. He has enough time to get ready and make it to Raccoon City. He could get breakfast to go and probably stop by his new apartment. Better to load off his belongings before starting his shift. 

He sits up in bed to look around the motel room. Talking to that girl last night was like a weird, sort of therapeutic, dream. It actually happened and he didn’t imagine her. After she left, Leon shortly had gone out to his Jeep last night to bring in his uniform. He saw her closing the door to a room a few doors up from him. 

Leon touches his forehead. A headache was starting up. He rolls out of the bed to drink from the tap and pauses. His stomach grumbles.

_ “You don’t feel anything at first but it will bite you back in the ass later” _

_ “Careful with that cheap stuff. It’ll give you the shits.” _

After an unholy moment and cleaning up, Leon went to return his room key. He was taken aback when he recognized the gas station attendant inside. 

The attendant recognizes him, too, and looks over his RPD uniform. “The boy from last night. A cop, eh? How are you doing now?”

Aside from a burning asshole and a hangover, “I’m alright.”

“You look lighter,” the attendant says. “Doesn’t he look lighter, Liv?”

The same woman from last night nods. “He sure does, Ralph.”

“Things will be looking up for you now, boy,” Ralph says.

Leon hands his room key to Liv. “I hope so.”

Ralph stops him from leaving. “Have you seen the girl that owns the red motorcycle? Liv called me last night about her troubles.”

“I haven’t seen her this morning,” Leon says. “She did tell me she was heading to Raccoon City. Anyway I can help?”

Protect and serve. To make even a small difference.

“Where’s your car?” Ralph asks.

Leon tried to help Ralph but the man waved him off. He told Leon to get the girl so that’s what he’s doing as he knocks on her door. Leon doesn’t spare a glance at his wristwatch. At this rate he will be in a real time crunch. Thankfully, the girl opens the door sooner. Her hair was loose from her ponytail and was bed raggled.

“Rookie?” She looks around him, possibly seeing Ralph, and her sleepy eyes awaken. “What’s going on?”

“We’ll leave as soon as your ready,” Leon says. 

“Wouldn’t this make you late?”

“I will be if you keep standing around.” The girl is still, failing at suppressing the smile on her face. “C’mon, Motor City!”

The girl closes the door. Leon sighs and walks back to Ralph. Ralph has attached a motorcycle trailer to his Jeep. He was finishing up strapping the girl’s bike on it.

“I’ll make sure to return it,” Leon begins.

Ralph steps off the trailer. “You don’t have to. I got other ones lying around.” 

The way Ralph looks at Leon reminds him of when how his grandparents used to look at him. A sense of pride.

“I’ll be right back!” shouts the girl as she jogs past them. She disappears around the corner to the office.

“I told you,” Ralph says.

Leon frowns. “What?”

“Talking to someone. It works wonders.” 

Leon scrapes his boot on the asphalt. “You’re not wrong. I felt uncomfortable at first but then it got easy.”

“I know what it’s like to try and drown inconveniences.” Ralph shakes his head. “It wasn’t until I met Liv that I began to let it out. You’re still young. There will be more ups and downs for you. Live in the best times but also the down times, it’s what helps you become a better person.”

Some good advice. But what does he say to that? The girl returns before Leon could come up with a response for Ralph.

The girl thanks Ralph, shaking his hand. “You ride?”

Ralph grins. “I got a couple of Shovelheads and a Scout.” He pats the girl’s bike. “That’s not going anywhere, but you kids should.”

Leon thanks him and Ralph pats his back.

“Rookie, you’re gonna be late!” the girl shouts, putting her bag in the backseat and taking residence up front. “Let’s go!”

* * *

Leon was late. 

After picking up gas station coffee and muffins, Leon and the girl comfortably chatted on the way to Raccoon City. He wasn’t expecting the ease of being around her. They are still strangers and he was prepared for a more or less silent car ride. However, they did find out a little more about each other. Not each others names, though.

The closer they got to the city, the more traffic picked up. Soon, Leon was driving through morning rush hour. He insisted on dropping her off at her brother’s, lying to her when she asked if he was good on time. He wasn’t, and he wouldn’t be able to stop by his apartment until later.

The girl directed him to her brother’s apartment complex. Leon helped the girl with detaching the trailer. Before he left, the girl hugged him, catching him off guard. He had awkwardly patted her back.

“It was short but I’m glad we met,” she had said. 

“Me too,” Leon rasped. “Kind of a weird way to become friends”

The girl let go and shoved him to his car. “You’re going to be late. Fucking go already.”

“And I thought we were having a moment.”

They waved each other goodbye through his rearview mirror.

More or less remembering where to go, Leon booked it to the police department. After he parked and checked himself over, he rushed in to find his commanding officer. He was lectured, alright. For being nearly two hours late on his first day and his welcome party.

“You should head out, Leon,” says Marvin Branagh, his commanding officer. 

Leon looks up from his desk. “I can make up for the lost time, sir. I don’t mind.”

Marvin leans down next to him. “I’ll let it slide this time. It’s your first day and you said my cake was good.” He stands back up. “Don’t let the others know.”

“I can hear you,” says Rita Phillips, his coworker, by one of the book shelves. She makes eye contact with Leon. “If Marvin is telling you to leave early, do it. After this it will be nothing but work, Rookie.”

Leon stands up from his desk. “I have rent to pay, I need to work.”

“I’ll walk you out,” Marvin offers.

“Don’t forget the extra cake,” reminds Rita, handing off a plate with a big portion to Leon as he walks out the door.

“What do you think so far?” Marvin asks him.

It’s the job he wanted. It’s the reason he moved from the East to the Midwest. Maxine may not be in it but it’s his future. 

“I’ll be just fine here.” Leon motions to the statue in the middle of the main hall. “That’ll take some time to get used to.”

Marvin chuckles. “You have not seen Chief Iron’s office yet.” He stops at the empty front desk. “Welcome aboard, Leon. See you tomorrow. On time, please!”

“You got it, sir,” Leon says.

“Rookie!”

Leon and Marvin’s heads swivel to the staircase by the statue’s side. The girl waves, the man behind her doesn’t. Marvin and the man acknowledge each other when they got closer to them. 

“How’s school going, Claire?” Marvin asks the girl.

Her name is Claire. After spending time without knowing each others names, Leon doesn’t know what to do with this information. He still thinks of her as ‘the girl.’

“So far so good,” she responds, and bumps her elbow against the man beside her. “I would still be there if Chris had taken my calls.”

“I’ll explain later,” Chris appeases her. He eyes Leon. “How did you two meet?”

“I gave her a ride,” Leon says. “Her bike broke down and I couldn’t leave her stranded.”

“Nothing else happened,” the girl, Claire, assures Chris. “I wouldn’t be here annoying you if he hadn’t given me a lift.”

Chris exhales through his nose. He sticks out his hand. “Thanks for looking after my sister.”

“No problem.” Leon takes his hand. They shake once and release. “I should get going. My shift is done.”

“I want the gossip later, Leon,” Marvin teases.

Leon couldn’t help grimacing, more so when Chris chimes in with a, “Me too.”

He was at the front gate of the police department when he heard someone shout behind him. 

“Hold up!” The girl, Claire, catches up to him. “Are you heading home?”

“Yeah, I still have to unpack.” Leon shakes his head. “I have to inflate the air mattress, too.”

She pouts. “Aw, poor baby. I don’t leave for the next couple of days, want to grab a bite then?”

Leon opens and closes his mouth. He looks over her to the front entrance. He swears he can see Chris and Marvin enjoying the show.

“Don’t worry about Chris. He won’t bite unless he has to.”

“You bite, too, don’t you?” Leon asks.

“When I have to,” she laughs. 

Leon’s eyes flick to hers. He catches the freckles on her nose bridge. No bugs this time. She undoubtedly knows him well after such a short period of time. His first friend since he moved to the Midwest.

“Alright,” Leon agrees, “you know where to find me.”

“Cool. See you, Leon.”

“See you, Claire.”

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry if it feels rushed. I feel like it still lacks but I wanted to get it up after editing. I used to randomly talk with strangers when I drove across the country. It felt weird to be ranting to someone you will never see again but it was relieving.  
> Also this Leon is a weird mix of OG RE2 and RE2Remake. I don't think I did a good job of writing him lol


End file.
